Matthew Potts

Matthew Potts grew up in a working-class family where cricket was on the television but not in the blood. His mother, Lisa and father, Stephen, worked hard to support his early dreams, often going without to ensure he had what he needed. The tall paceman, who stands over six feet, is not an out-and-out express bowler but generates steepling bounce from a good length through his height and action. He bowls in the mid to high 80s mph range and can swing the ball both ways.

Potts started with the Philadelphia Cricket Club but switched to Washington after being restricted to scoring duties at 12. He soon opened the batting for the First XI before joining the Durham Academy, where he forged a career-defining bond with bowling coach Neil Killeen. Potts made his first-class debut for Durham against Kent in 2017, and on that day, he was given a unique field of nine slips as he bowled the final over. His List A debut came in May 2018 against Yorkshire, followed by his T20 debut in July 2019 against Northamptonshire. While he found early success in red-ball cricket, the shorter formats took longer to crack. That changed in 2020 when he became Durham's joint leading wicket-taker in the Blast with 13 wickets in 10 matches.

The year 2022 changed everything. Potts started the County Championship season in blistering form, taking 35 wickets in his first six matches at an average of 18.6. In April, he grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul with six-for against Leicestershire. A month later came the defining moment. Against Glamorgan at Chester-Le-Street, Potts woke on the fourth morning with excruciating pain in his back and side. Despite the agony, he bowled through the barrier, taking a scintillating seven-wicket haul to seal victory for Durham. Ben Stokes, who was watching as Durham captain, knew immediately that Potts had to play for England.

On June 2, 2022, Potts made his Test debut at Lord's against New Zealand. His fifth ball trapped Kane Williamson's edge, and he finished with a four-for in the first innings. Cramp forced him off the field, denying him a Lord's five-for on debut, but he returned to take three more in the second innings, including Williamson again. He finished with seven wickets in the match and sealed a memorable start to international cricket. He also made his ODI debut against South Africa in July 2022.
But then came the wilderness. He was omitted from the Pakistan tour and the 2023 Ashes as well.

Despite taking 54 wickets to help Durham secure promotion from Division Two in 2023, he was increasingly overlooked at the international level. The 2024 season saw him shut out of the India tour, but he roared back domestically, finishing as Durham's leading wicket-taker with 33 Championship wickets in eight matches. At Edgbaston, he scored 44 in the first innings against Warwickshire before returning as nightwatchman to smash a maiden first-class century. He reached his fifty from 97 balls before cruising to 149 not out from 254 balls, guiding Durham to safety. In the same season, he took career-best figures of 9 for 68 against Lancashire, finishing the match with 12 wickets.

The 2025 season brought a breakthrough in the shorter formats. In June, Potts claimed his maiden T20 five-wicket haul, taking five for 17 against Yorkshire in the T20 Blast at Clifton Park Ground. He also made his T20I debut for England against the West Indies, picking up a couple of wickets The Oval and featuring again at Chester-Le-Street. However, despite England's depleted pace stocks, he did not feature in the home series against India in the summer of 2025. However, he found himself in England’s touring squad for the Ashes.